August 2, 2023

Defence chiefs from West Africa’s regional bloc were meeting in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Wednesday for talks on how to respond to a coup last week in neighbouring Niger that has raised fears of a wider conflict in West Africa’s Sahel region.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has imposed sanctions on Niger and said it could authorize the use of force if the coup leaders do not reinstate elected President Mohamed Bazoum within a week from last Sunday.

Regional defence chiefs will hold a two-day meeting in Abuja about the situation. An ECOWAS delegation was also expected to arrive in Niger’s capital Niamey on Wednesday to start talks with the junta, which is led by General Abdourahmane Tiani.

It was the seventh military takeover in less than three years in West and Central Africa and has opened a split in the bloc – neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by military juntas, have said they would consider any regional intervention in Niger to be a declaration of war and would come to its defence.

Niger is also a key Western ally in a fight against Islamist insurgents, and the coup has been condemned by foreign powers.

The coup leaders announced overnight they had reopened its land and air borders with Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Libya and Chad.

The junta closed the borders last Wednesday, at the same time that it announced that it had removed Bazoum from power.

The borders that have reopened are mainly in remote desert areas. Niger’s key entryways for trade and commerce remain closed due to sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.

EUROPEANS EVACUATED
France and Italy are evacuating European citizens from Niger amid growing fears of conflict. The first military planes carrying mostly European nationals landed in Paris and Rome on Wednesday.

“Yesterday and today, with the help of our French friends, we were already able to fly more than 40 Germans out of Niger,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, adding there would be more flights on Wednesday.

“It is also with this same unity and determination that we, as the European Union, support international efforts to restore constitutional order in Niger,” she said.

France said it had evacuated more than 350 French people so far.

“Things could have turned ugly but it still is nice to be back here,” a French evacuee who gave his name as Charles told Reuters TV.

“We will see how things evolve over there in the coming days and weeks. For us, who care about it quite a lot, we will follow this closely,” he said.

France, the United States, Germany, and Italy have troops in Niger on counterinsurgency and training missions, helping the army to fight groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

There has been no announcement of troops being withdrawn so far. Germany’s defence minister said on Wednesday that there were no concerns about the safety of German soldiers.

Any Western military intervention to restore democracy must be ruled out, as it would be “perceived as a new colonisation”, said Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani.

Niger is the world’s seventh-biggest producer of uranium, the radioactive metal widely used for nuclear energy and treating cancer.

The EU Commission said earlier this week that it had sufficient inventories of natural uranium to mitigate any short-term supply risks.

REUTERS